CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Stock Holdings Increased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp raised its position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,880,015 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 431,260 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.90% of CenterPoint Energy worth $186,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CNP. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 87,449,927 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,774,941,000 after buying an additional 334,631 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in CenterPoint Energy by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 46,645,434 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,480,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,169 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 156.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 45,573,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,446,036,000 after buying an additional 27,799,744 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,490,728 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $490,205,000 after acquiring an additional 406,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth $158,232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CNP traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $39.05. 376,801 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,078,882. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.33. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $25.41 and a one year high of $39.31.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 11.79%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is currently 59.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Argus raised shares of CenterPoint Energy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.79.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

CenterPoint Energy, Inc operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Electric and Natural Gas. The Electric segment includes electric transmission and distribution services to electric customers and electric generation assets, as well as optimizes assets in the wholesale power market.